Chapter: 828
In the Sacheon region.
Among them, a place a little removed from the city.
It’s an ambiguous location known to people merely as a quiet neighborhood. It’s not completely deserted, but it certainly doesn’t have the crowd of the city center.
Gyecheonmunju Daehwan strides towards a certain residence within the area.
The sun was shining, but for some reason, it looked a bit dimmer. The few people he could see were becoming increasingly rare as he went on.
With a stiff expression, Lord Gyecheon finally arrives in front of the residence. As soon as he steps up to the door, it opens as if it had been waiting for him.
Creek!
A man bows his head to Daehwan from the now-open door.
“Greetings, Lord Moonju.”
As Gyecheonmunju steps inside the residence, he immediately asks, “What’s the search situation?”
“Jin Ho-beop is circulating his men to gather information, but… he reports that nothing has been found so far,” the man replies.
“Are you saying there’s not even a trace?”
“Yes, I’m sorry…,” he apologizes.
Gnash!
Daehwan grinds his teeth and continues moving forward.
The inside of the residence looked like a typical guesthouse, but as he casually brushed past a bookshelf, Creeeeak—!
Suddenly, the left wall opened up, revealing a staircase leading down.
He immediately descends the stairs.
“Your Majesty… Since Jin Ho-beop has taken the lead, we should be able to find the information quickly,” the man says somewhat cautiously as they descend, likely sensing Moonju’s unease. The recent sudden attacks were the crux of the problem.
That’s why Moonju’s nerves were rather frazzled.
However.
“Enough.”
“Yes?”
The man is taken aback by Moonju’s words.
“What do you mean…?”
“I think we might have found the culprit.”
“…!?”
Found the culprit? That came out of nowhere!
All of a sudden, you’ve figured out who it is? When the man begins to voice his confusion, Moonju speaks up again.
“It seems like the culprit is the Holy King.”
At Moonju’s words, the man’s eyes widen as if they are lanterns.
“Are you talking about the Holy King?”
“Yeah. That scoundrel.”
“…Did something happen when you met?”
“…”
Thinking back to his encounter with the Holy King, Moonju’s face twisted into a sinister grimace. It was a memory he didn’t dare explain.
The more they talked about it, the more it seemed best to stifle his murderous intent.
The scoundrel’s expression, his manner of speaking, his voice—everything about him incited anger.
Does it look like dog food to you?
Remembering that unique expression, Gyecheonmunju clenched his fist tightly.
“He asked me if I knew about the Ilcheon Church.”
“The Ilcheon Church!? How the heck does he know about that…?”
“He mentioned he had many eyes watching. I can’t vouch for that, but judging by the vibes, it seems he might not be wrong.”
The mention of the Ilcheon Church and the expression on that guy’s face at the time made Gyecheonmunju’s suspicions even stronger.
…But the problem was.
‘How?’
How on earth did this situation arise?
No matter how much he thought about it, Gyecheonmunju just couldn’t wrap his head around it.
‘How did he know?’
That guy was, in a word, suspicious. The deeper you dug, the stranger it became.
Gyecheonmunju had already anticipated that the Murim Alliance would make their move around this time.
In fact, he had even leaked some information to Mokri-seon in hopes of that very outcome.
He had expected some major personnel to show up.
But then.
‘I never expected TWO of them to show up.’
He thought they would primarily focus on searching since this was just the beginning, but contrary to expectations, two major players had arrived. It was a deviation from his plan.
The root cause of the issue was the delay between the information leaking from Mokri Line and its arrival in Hanam.
Something must have occurred in Hanam that triggered this.
Thanks to that, he had to face the wildcard that was Seongryongdae, but up until that point, he thought Gyecheonmunju could handle it.
‘In fact, it’s a blessing.’
Seongryongdae led by the Holy King? Looking him up, it turned out that the Holy King was just nearing maturity—a late bloomer, so to say. It wouldn’t make sense for him to have any real experience.
He had reportedly reached the rank of king at a young age, so while his martial prowess might be commendable, that was about it.
After all, he was just a young punk with no real experience yet wielding power. And that was the image Gyecheonmunju held of the Holy King.
‘Things have changed.’
The Holy King he met in person was quite a different story than the one Gyecheonmunju expected.
Not only had he cleverly disguised a tavern as a hideout, but the aura he exuded was far too complex for a mere youthful rank.
‘What should I even call it?’
It was hard to describe. But at the very least, it didn’t feel like he was the leader of the Murim Alliance. That was the Holy King from Gyecheonmunju’s perspective.
Having crossed many perilous paths until reaching old age, he had witnessed an incomprehensible number of right and wrong forms of power. Thus, Gyecheonmunju was convinced of the Holy King’s true nature.
‘He wasn’t a righteous man.’
That guy was too twisted to be labeled a righteous one. Even when he was subduing his own disciples.
‘He truly had the intention to kill.’
There was no hesitation in his actions whatsoever. In fact, it looked like he was fighting every urge to kill him right then and there.
While it was hard to use mere killings to differentiate between righteousness and evil, this was not the kind of glance a mere young pup should possess.
‘Just how much blood has he shed?’
After killing and killing again, he now viewed death as something insignificant. This was a place that could only be reached by those living on the brink of death, where the specter of mortality loomed large.
He was carrying that air.
‘…I just can’t comprehend.’
It felt absolutely incomprehensible. Had he been through repeated experiences like that?
How could it be anything else?
‘This complicates things.’
It seemed like he knew something, though. I couldn’t tell how much he understood, but one thing was for sure; he was definitely holding some cards.
Yet.
‘Not the whole deck.’
It didn’t seem like he knew everything. Just bits about his own territory and the Ilcheon Church. He appeared to have only that much knowledge, and anything beyond that seemed unknown to him.
‘Maybe not.’
This was merely conjecture. He could have been pretending ignorance.
And most importantly.
‘His goal doesn’t appear to be us or the Ilcheon Church…’
The crucial point is that the King’s focus isn’t on them for the moment. Wasn’t it him who said something when he first showed up at the base?
‘Join hands with the Ilcheong sword.’
And then help him kill himself…or rather, help Ilcheonggeom kill him.
That was the Holy King’s request.
Why on earth did he want to incite the Blue Dragon Lord, Ilcheonggeom, to kill him? The two were on the same side here. There was no need to dwell on this question for long.
Clearly, he would need some justification.
The justification likely born from Ilcheonggeom’s presence. It seemed like the King was banking on that.
Watching all of this, Gyecheonmunju promptly linked arms with the Holy King under the guise of a deal.
He saw it as an advantageous move for his own purpose. This perception only solidified further when he finally met Ilcheonggeom.
Ilcheonggeom appeared to be carrying out the Holy King’s wishes.
So much so that it almost felt like they had colluded to catch Gyecheonmunju.
‘If this was a planned setup, then that’s fortunate.’
If it wasn’t.
‘Then that means I’m completely at that brat’s mercy.’
Back then.
And even now.
Gyecheonmunju found it harder and harder to shake off the creeping sense of unease.
Just then.
“Lord Moonju.”
The man calls out to him.
As Gyecheonmunju turns his gaze at the call, the man speaks with a worried expression.
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we inform Branch Manager Mok first?”
“Branch Manager Mok?”
“Yes, regarding the situation with the Holy King…”
“Don’t do that.”
“W-What?”
The man looks at him, bewildered, but Gyecheonmunju’s attitude remains unwavering.
Contacting Mokri-seon to gauge his reaction? Not a chance.
‘I know that Mokri-seon is already one of our people.’
That alone was shocking, but what’s even more critical is.
‘Is Mokri-seon still on our side?’
The trust placed in Mokri Line isn’t that robust at all.
He’s already a traitor once. If he was willing to make a pact with Gyecheonmun for his own gain, it wouldn’t be hard for him to do it again.
Thus, for now, it’s best to watch and wait. If it comes to it…
‘He’ll be the first to go.’
Starting with Mokri-seon. Gyecheonmunju steadies himself with cold eyes.
“For now, let’s act as the Holy King suggests.”
“Lord Moonju. One thing.”
“But it might not end well if we lean too far to one side.”
As Gyecheonmunju speaks, he raises his inner energy.
“It would be best to act in accordance with Ilcheonggeom’s wishes.”
“So, you mean…”
“I’ll need to empower Ilcheonggeom a bit more than the King had hoped.”
Gyecheonmunju grasped the intentions of both parties.
They were likely looking to plunge a blade into each other’s throats for their respective territories.
“Ha…”
Pondering that, Gyecheonmunju let out a half-hearted laugh.
“…As expected. The righteous faction is rotting away.”
They’re willing to eliminate opponents for their own gain.
What kind of righteousness and harmony can exist in that? And it’s the so-called great leaders of the Alliance who are engaging in this farce.
‘And they dare to call themselves righteous?’
It’s absurd. It’s equally meaningless.
‘Not much time is left. Be sure to keep an eye on this.’
The day when he can unleash his intentions is drawing near. Being treated as Sapa and treated as a hindrance will finally come to an end.
‘You aren’t a righteous faction.’
They’ve decayed at the roots and lost their original ideals.
No, they’ve long lost their true roots—there’s probably nothing left to even call a root.
The true root is the Ilcheon Church.
They possess what the so-called faction has lost, and it won’t be long before many realize this truth themselves.
The true foundation of the sect.
Who, exactly, has inherited the will of King Yeonilcheon, the Golden Iron Fist?
The one who unexpectedly opened the door and entered was none other than the leader of the party.
It was the Poison King.
I had to put on a dumbfounded expression when I laid my eyes on him.
“…Wait. Is that you, Lord?”
Why the heck did that guy suddenly pop up?
Even if it was unexpected, it couldn’t have come this out of the blue.
From the look on his face, he appeared quite furious too.
“Old Confucius….”
“Yes?”
The Poison King turns sideways with a frown. Seated beside him was Yeonhong…no, the Dark King.
“Another woman?”
“…What?”
Girl?
What kind of nonsense is that? I stared at the Poison King, utterly lost on what he meant.
“You’re making our precious Soyeol suffer like this. And now two more…!? Just how much longer do you plan to keep this up?”
“Uhh…?”
It didn’t take long before I understood why he was overreacting.
There seemed to be some misunderstanding regarding the Dark King dressed as Yeonhong…
‘Hold on a minute.’
I furrowed my brows in confusion. But why two?
It was strange. If we only counted the Dark King, isn’t there just one? Something feels off. But before I speak about this, I need to defuse the Poison King first.
“Lord, I think you have misunderstood something… It’s not like that.”
“That’s not it!”
“It truly isn’t! What would I do to someone of such standing?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
“Y-Yes…?”
“You don’t excel at anything. Why do you have so many girls hanging around you?”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
Even though I wanted to counter that assertion, I couldn’t come up with anything to say.
“I said it was a heroic act. I was ready to overlook it to some extent… but isn’t this just too much?”
“That’s… It really is a misunderstanding…”
It’s hard to articulate. I thought it was a misunderstanding, but I also felt a subtle pang of guilt.
What can I say? I wracked my brain for an answer, but nothing came up. Just then, my throat felt dry from the pressure.
“But, Lord…”
A query suddenly struck me.
“…Is that why you came?”
What was the Poison King’s purpose in coming here? This was a fundamental question. I had been intending to visit the Tang Clan this day or the next.
But now that the Poison King had just shown up, I was baffled.
“…”
The Poison King’s expression hesitated slightly at my question.
Based on his reaction, this didn’t seem to be the reason.
“…Lord?”
When I didn’t hear a reply, I asked again.
At that moment, the Poison King flinched and hastily cleared his throat.
Clear, clear…
“Cough….”
“…”
As I silently stared, the Poison King averted his gaze everywhere until he finally spoke.
“I had something urgent to take care of.”
What he meant was that.
“I didn’t come here to rant. I had something else to discuss… So I got angry after assessing the situation?”
“…”
It seemed like I had struck a nerve since the Poison King avoided making eye contact.
I scratched my cheek as I observed him.
“…Ah, understood. In that case… you should save your anger for later. But why did you come here…?”
This feels unjust, but I’m not about to voice that.
I wish I could resolve this misunderstanding, but I also acknowledge my share of blame, making it tough to claim it’s merely a misunderstanding.
Why did the head of the party venture all this way just for the sake of putting on the calm face?
When I asked this, the Poison King repeatedly cleared his throat before looking at Yeonhong.
“…It feels a tad awkward to discuss it here.”
Maybe there’s something they need to keep private. The fact that he made the effort to visit me personally suggested it was significant.
“Oh, then… let’s move to my place for now.”
First, I led the Poison King to the place where I was temporarily staying.
Immediately after arriving at my residence, I smiled awkwardly at the Poison King.
“Oh dear… I’m sorry. I was supposed to come to see you…”
“…No.”
The Poison King’s expression reflected lingering frustration, as if traces of anger still tainted his features.
Ugh… this is utterly complicated.
“Um… Does the deputy chief…no, does Dang So-yeol know you’ve come, Lord?”
“…”
“Looks like she doesn’t know.”
He arrived without informing Tang So-yeol? Then…
“Is it appropriate for me not to say anything?”
“…Cough.”
“…Yes, I will remain silent.”
“Thank you….”
It seemed he fully understood the jeopardy he’d face if caught.
What mattered was that he came here with that knowledge nonetheless.
As I expected from the situation.
‘Is it because of Dokcheondan?’
The resurrection of Dokcheondan, which the Tang Clan had been experimenting with using the formula I provided.
Recently, they had been failing due to a lack of suitable materials or circumstances, but perhaps there had finally been some progress.
So perhaps that was why the angry Poison King made his way here.
That’s what I had been hypothesizing.
“Hm….”
With that on my mind, I poured tea.
I thought about skipping the drink, but I noticed the Poison King’s lips looked quite parched.
So, I was going to pour the tea that my attendant had prepared in advance, suggesting it would help soothe his throat.
At that very moment.
Thud!
The head of the clan suddenly slapped his hand against the spout of the teapot.
I froze in appalled silence. The steaming tea was pouring out, yet he caught it without a care.
What the heck is he doing all of a sudden? I was about to voice my confusion.
“Listen, when it comes to—”
He abruptly fell silent.
As if he had finally caught on to something.
Thump.
My pulse quickened.
The antidote within me reacted. This alone was sufficient to assess the situation.
The Poison King leaned in closer and whispered to me.
“It’s poisoned.”
The tea was laced with poison.
This was exactly what I had been waiting for.
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